Politics & Government

Safety First at Basset Park

Complaints of dead trees at the town's dog park, located at Bassett Park, will mean it will close for a day this month for a clean up, according to the mayor.

 

Editor's Note: This letter is in response to this article that appeared in the Post/Chronicle. 

To the Editor:

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In response to recent articles and letters with regard to maintenance at Hamden's Dog Park, I would like to take the opportunity to address the overall improvements throughout Bassett Park, of which the Dog Park is a component.

As many residents are aware, Bassett Park is among the most heavily-used of all of Hamden's parks. As the site of five baseball and softball fields, tennis and basketball courts as well as the Dog Park and the newly-renovated Larry's Playground, concern for the safety of the users of the park, including their routes to and from the facility, must be paramount.

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During my time as Mayor, the primary safety complaint to my office has involved parking on Waite Street and the lack of safe crossing from the Waite Street parking lot to the baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts and playground. The installation of sidewalks along the entirety of the Waite Street portion of Bassett Park has alleviated the on-street parking concerns and the reconfiguration of the parking lot entrance and crosswalk installation now allow safe passage to the Waite Street entrance of the park.

The entry to the dog park and supplemental parking lot on the south side of Waite Street have been specifically designed to better organize vehicular access to and from the lot while protecting the pedestrians crossing at that location.

Specific to the Dog Park, the Department of Public Works will close the park for one day between the middle and end of August to remove any dead trees. Based upon the size of one specific tree in the main park area, heavy equipment is required to do the removal. Because of the lingering results of Tropical Storm Irene and the October Nor'easter last year, the Town's tree crew has prioritized tree removals based on severity, and mid- to late-August was the earliest opportunity available for removal of these trees.

Since its inception, the Dog Park has been a unique collaborative effort between the Town and the users of the park as evidenced in its founding ordinance in 2002: “dog owners that utilize the park are responsible for maintenance of the Dog Park area, including monitoring and clean-up,” and the town greatly appreciates all of the effort that has been made by so many volunteers.

Under this very progressive model, the first line of authority over the park, be it day-to-day cleanup or management of aggressive dogs, lies with the users of the park. The town of Hamden, through its maintenance crews and Police Department, is ready, willing, and able to stand behind the users of the Dog Park in ensuring that it — and all of Bassett Park — is safe, clean, and inviting for all community stakeholders.

Mayor Scott Jackson


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